CEATEC AWARD 2017 Two Ministerial Awards Selected

At CEATEC JAPAN 2017, under the concept of “Connecting Society, Creating the Future”, CEATEC AWARD 2017 was held with the aim of promoting the development of the “super-smart society” through CPS/IoT, contributing to the creation and development of new value and markets, and contributing to the invigoration of those related industries. We hereby announce the recipients of two ministerial awards, the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Award and the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award, as selected by the CEATEC AWARD review board panel of judges. The recipients of grand prix, first runner up for five category awards, and special judges’ award will be announced on Wednesday, October 4th.

Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Award

Product description:
This GNSS receiver enables independent, high-precision positioning using the L6 signal from the Michibiki quasi-zenith satellite, which is due to commence full operation in 2018. The receiver is based on a multi-frequency, multi-GNSS-compatible evaluation board that took two years to develop. The analog receiver (RF) section is an LSI, allowing size reduction, lighter weight and lower power consumption while maintaining performance. This receiver will spur on the use of high-precision positioning, accurate to a few centimeters, and promote more advanced and rapid implementation of autonomous cars and V2X functions.

Comment on the selection:
Outstanding in terms of innovativeness, marketability and economical efficiency, this high-precision GPS holds great promise for industrial applications. It has been highly appraised for being the only product currently compatible with quasi-zenith satellites.
By making accurate positioning commercially available, this technology has great potential in related markets – for example, for the positioning of vehicles and drones to within a few centimeters.

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award

Settlement service using facial authentication

Product description:
As a technology for identifying people for transaction services, this product uses the NeoFace facial authentication engine to offer unparalleled authentication accuracy. It confirms personal identity by matching preregistered facial images with those captured by a camera adjacent to the POS terminal, thus enabling hands-free, cashless and cardless transactions when customers purchase goods in a store.

Comment on the selection:
This represents a sophisticated facial authentication concept with international potential. It has been highly appraised as a leading-edge technology that will advance QOL. If commercialized, it is expected to have a significant impact on our lives.
Many authentication methods have been developed, but this is tied in closely to visual observation. With smartphone facial authentication technologies currently in the limelight, this technology shows great promise for marketability with its high authentication accuracy enabling hands-free transactions.

The latest information and details are available on the official website:
http://www.ceatec.com